Exit Wounds
by The King's Soldier
Summary: "What happens in the cockpit stays there." Spoilers for 2x05 and 2x06. After learning that Ward has escaped, Skye hides out on the Bus to clear her head. May goes to check on her and ends up helping her work through her feelings about Ward, her father, and what she might be. Small appearance by Coulson at the beginning.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: So season two is off to a really great start. Pretty exciting stuff going on. And we're finally starting to get some information about Skye's dad, which is fantastic. This story is something that started coming together in my head after 2x05 where Skye just almost meets her father. As much as I loved Coulson being there for Skye, I wanted to do a little more exploration of her feelings for her father. So I started work on this piece a few days after that episode, and when 2x06 aired I decided to expand it to tackle both Skye's dad and Ward. It picks up right after the end of that episode with Ward's escape being discovered. I also thing that Skye and May have a pretty solid relationship, especially now that May's her S.O., and I really wish we could see more of that on screen. So I console myself by writing about it. This story contains a lot of dialogue, but I think it's all stuff that Skye would actually being trying to work through. Hopefully it doesn't seem too OOC. The title comes from a song of the same name by The Script that I listened to a lot while writing this. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Exit Wounds<strong>

It's a long flight back to the base. Hunter and Bobbi seem to have come to some sort of understanding, so they actually manage a civil conversation. May isn't sure if she should smile or roll her eyes. It's about time. She was starting to think she was going to have to lock them together in a supply closet and leave them there until they could work things out. But it looks like that won't be necessary.

Coulson is waiting for them in the hangar when the plane lands. That's not a good sign. The grim expression on his face is an even worse one.

"What's eating you?" Hunter asks bluntly as the three of them step off the plane ramp onto the concrete.

"Ward never reached his destination," Coulson says, looking pointedly at May.

"What?!" Hunter exclaims.

"What happened?" Bobbi asks simultaneously.

"We're not sure," Coulson says. "I managed to get a tracker on the transport that picked him up. It's in the woods about thirty minutes from here."

"Oh, that's just bloody brilliant," Hunter says drily.

"You think Hydra found out about the transfer and set up a rescue?" Bobbi asks.

"It's possible," Coulson admits. "It's also possible that Ward escaped on his own. I'm not sure which is worse."

"Both those options are very not good," Hunter says strongly.

"Trip's about to leave to go look at the transport," Coulson says to May. "I want you to go with him."

After the plane travel and the mission, all May really wants to do is take a shower and a nice long nap. But they both know she won't say no to Coulson. Especially not when it's something this important. So she nods and moves to step around him.

"And May?" Coulson says, turning his head to keep eye contact. May stops and looks over at him expectantly. "Don't say anything to Skye or Fitzsimmons. Not until we know more."

May nods to show that she understands. Then she heads off to find Trip. Grant Ward better not be anywhere near that transport when they get there. Because if he is, May's going to make sure she finishes the job this time. Deals with his senator brother be damned.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The transport is a wreck. The entire detail sent to guard Ward is dead. One of the men about Ward's size is missing his uniform and gun. Another is missing his boots. Ward's plain outfit is folded neatly in the back of the truck, his shoes and handcuffs placed on top. The handcuffs are still locked. He must've dislocated his thumbs to get the things off.

There's a folded piece of paper resting beside the handcuffs. Skye's name is on the outside. May warily picks it up and opens it. Inside is one sentence: "When you're ready." Whatever that means.

May and Trip run a thorough sweep of the area around the transport, but they both know they won't find any trace of Ward. He's far too smart for that. The traitorous son of a bitch is long gone by now.

The drive back to the base seems to stretch on forever. Not only was Ward a traitor, but despite their best efforts, he also knows a great deal about the new S.H.I.E.L.D. He could probably find the base again if he wanted to. They'll have to seriously tighten security. And then there's Skye and Fitzsimmons. Knowing Ward is out there somewhere is going to destroy them.

When they get back to the base, May heads straight to Coulson's office. She walks in to find he and Skye pouring over his desk, probably looking at pictures of his carvings. Skye has a theory they've been looking in to. They both look up as May comes in. Coulson pushes himself back from the desk, the look on his face saying he can already tell they found no trace of Ward. May looks pointedly at Skye and then back at Coulson.

"Go ahead," Coulson says wearily as he sits down in his desk chair. "She'll find out sooner or later."

"Find out what?" Skye asks curiously.

"Ward's transport never reached its destination," Coulson says.

"What?" Skye looks completely shocked.

"It looks like he got the handcuffs off himself, probably by dislocating his thumbs," May says, looking at Coulson. If she treats it like just another mission report, maybe she won't end up breaking something. "He killed the guards and stole one of their uniforms, including a gun."

"So he's armed," Coulson says. He shakes his head. "This is not good."

"You mean he's out there?" Skye asks. Her shock is slowly morphing into something resembling fear.

"We searched around the transport," May says, still looking at Coulson. "There's no sign of him. He could be anywhere."

Skye turns away and runs a shaky hand through her hair. Coulson's fist banging down on the desk causes her to jump.

"How could this have happened?" Coulson asks angrily. "I told them he was dangerous! I told them to watch him!"

"There's more," May says quietly. She pulls the piece of paper out of her pocket. "We found this in the transport."

She walks over to Skye, holding it out. Skye looks up at her in confusion. She takes the page and unfolds it, her eyes taking in the lone sentence. She swallows hard.

"What does it say?" Coulson asks.

"'When you're ready,'" Skye reads. She lets her hand with the note fall to her side.

"We need to find him," May says, turning to look at Coulson.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Coulson asks. "Ward was one of our best. If he doesn't want us to find him, then we won't. Besides, he could have any number of Hydra contacts that we don't know about."

"Then we need to alert Talbot," May says. The words feel strange coming off her tongue. She never in a million years thought she'd be saying that. "Let them know he's loose. And we also need to tighten our security here. Ward knows enough to put this base in serious danger. We should start looking for a new base of operations."

Coulson's reply is cut off by the sound of paper crumpling. May turns around to see that Skye's hand has tightened into a fist around Ward's note.

"Skye?" Coulson asks in concern.

"I need some air," she says before hurrying toward the door. Coulson's chair squeaks as he starts to get up and follow her.

"Phil," May says strongly. Coulson looks over to see her shaking her head. "Let her go."

The door slams shut and they can hear Skye's quick footsteps fading down the hallway. Coulson sits back down with a heavy sigh.

"We need to find him," he says.

"How?" May asks quietly.

"I wish I knew," Coulson says as he leans wearily back in his chair. He looks for all the world like a man defeated. "I wish I knew."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

There isn't really much they can do for the time being, so May heads back to her bunk to shower and take a nap. She wakes up in time for dinner a few hours later. It's a short walk to the small mess hall. The place is already filled with the meager handful of base personnel by the time she arrives, but there's no sign of Skye.

Coulson sees May come in, and takes that as his cue to stand up and ask for everyone's attention. He's decided to use the opportunity provided by having everyone in the same room to tell them all what happened. It goes over about as well as expected. Most of the room is infuriated that the traitor is roaming free. Fitz nearly has a panic attack, and Mac has to take him out of the room to calm him down. Jemma quietly slips out somewhere in that process. May starts to go check on her, but Trip gets up without any prompting and heads after the scientist himself. That's probably a better idea. Trip has a certain gift for always knowing what to say.

Once Coulson has finished answering the few questions that he can, May leaves the roar of conversation in the small mess hall and heads to the hangar to check on Skye. She knows instinctively where the younger agent will be. After arriving at the base, Skye developed a habit of hiding out on the Bus when she needed space. With everything that had happened, May just figured Skye wanted to be somewhere that felt familiar. (It says something about how much she's settled into S.H.I.E.L.D. that she chooses to hide on the Bus instead of in one of the ground vehicles that reminds her of her old van.) She's been going to the hangar less and less as time has gone on, but now, after everything with her father and now Ward, it makes sense that she would retreat to that hiding place.

May heads up the ramp into the plane. It seems a bit strange being on it with no mission. That's really the only thing they use it for now. It seems like a lifetime ago that she actually lived on this plane.

She walks past Skye's bunk to see that the door is open, revealing an empty room. Not that May had really expected Skye to be there. Instead she keeps walking in the direction of the cockpit. If Skye is on the Bus, that's where she'll be. Somewhere along the way, May's personal refuge has become Skye's as well.

The cockpit door is slightly ajar when May reaches it. She carefully pushes it open and steps into the familiar space. A cascade of brown hair visible over the top of the co-pilot's seat proves her hunch correct. The head turns around, and then Skye's face is looking back at May.

"Hey," Skye says quietly.

"You missed dinner," May says, coming around to sit in the pilot's seat.

"I wasn't hungry," Skye says quietly.

"Want to talk about it?" May asks.

"Ward's out there," Skye says angrily as she stares out the windshield. "After everything he did. He lied to us. Lied right to our faces. He killed Eric and goodness knows how many other people. He almost killed Fitz and Simmons. He deserved to die. He was going to die. But now he's out there free, and there is nothing we can do about it."

May is quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what she's supposed to say to that.

"You didn't call them Fitzsimmons," she says finally. For some reason, that detail strikes her as important.

"Because they're not," Skye says. She looks over at May with a pained expression. "They haven't been since they came up out of the ocean. Fitz is barely even Fitz. And yeah, he's getting better, but he's not the same person he was. And Simmons... She's changed. Seeing him like that and then being in Hydra? That changed her. She used to have this... this spark. And now it's gone. And it's not just them either. Everything is a mess. S.H.I.E.L.D. is all but nonexistent. What's left of it is hiding in this bunker. Coulson is never here, and even when he is, he's the director now, so it's still not the same. Plus the serum is screwing with his brain, so for all we know, he could turn into a psycho at any time. Oh, and my old S.O. is a traitor who's now out there on the loose to wreck whatever havoc he wants."

She slumps back against the seat, completely drained by her emotional outburst.

"I just miss the way it used to be, you know?" Skye says quietly. "Living on the Bus. Us against the world. I mean, yeah, there were crazy missions and there were days we almost died. But then we'd all come back and play Scrabble or whatever and it was like the rest of the world just didn't matter anymore. Now it's all gone. Even just being in this base is a reminder of that."

"It's a different world," May says quietly.

"Yeah, well, it sucks," Skye tells her.

"What did Ward's note mean?" May asks, looking over at Skye. The younger agent sighs heavily.

"He has this idea that he's going to somehow earn back my trust and then introduce me to my dad," she says. "Which is ridiculous. For one thing, I will never trust him again. And for another, I don't even know if I want to meet my dad."

May raises an eyebrow like she doesn't really believe that, but Skye is looking out the windshield so she doesn't see. In the end, May decides to let that go and change tactics.

"Did Ward know where to find him?" she asks instead.

"No," Skye says softly. The low tone of her voice tells May that, in spite of her previous statement, Skye really does want to meet her father.

"We'll find him," May says. Then, realizing there might be some confusion as to who she means, she adds, "Both of them."

Skye looks down at her hands and suddenly she seems so very small.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she says quietly.

"Which one?" May asks in slight confusion.

"Both," Skye says. She sighs. "Ward is a psychopath. Every time I'm around him, he tries to get inside my head. He acts like he really does love me, like he did all of this for me. And the worst part is that part of me wants to believe him. And it makes me sick."

She shakes her head angrily.

"I hate him," she says strongly. "I hate that he used me. That he betrayed me. I hate that after everything he did, that he can look me in the eye and not feel one single bit of guilt. I hate that I let him in and let him hurt me and make me scared to trust anyone because they might be just like him."

She scratches angrily at her palm before pulling the sleeve of her sweatshirt down over it, almost as if she can't stand to look at her own skin. May just waits in silence.

"When Coulson said we were giving him to Christian, I was relieved," Skye confesses. "He wouldn't be our problem anymore. I would never have to see him again. Only now he's out there, and he has this sick fixation on me." She shook her head. "He'll find me. I know he will."

"There's not a lot that I would put past Ward," May says slowly. "He is capable of just about every horrible act I can think of. But I honestly don't think he would ever hurt you."

"Not physically," Skye agrees. "But get inside my head? Try to turn me against everyone I care about and make me into some sort of sick sidekick? That he would do."

"We're going to do everything we can to find him," May assures her.

"You won't," Skye says quietly.

"We will," May says. Skye looks over at her questioningly. "No one is perfect, not even a specialist like Ward. Sooner or later he will make a mistake. And when he does, we'll get him. And I personally will make sure that he pays for what he did. To you and to the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Skye nods slowly to show that she understands. Then she turns back to look out the windshield at the hangar once more. May does the same, and for a moment there is silence in the cockpit. It's a familiar situation for both of them. Even before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell apart, there had been many times when Skye had found her way to the cockpit to sit quietly beside May. Several of them occurred at night, a few of them while the Bus was docked in this very hangar. May suspects that many of those visits were due to nightmares or worries so overwhelming they prevented sleep. Those are the reasons that bring her to this cockpit, and their pasts aside, Skye in many ways is just a younger version of her S.O.

As if reading her mind, Skye suddenly speaks up.

"You've never asked me why I come up here," she says. She glances over at May and then back out the windshield. "Why I invade your space."

"If you want me to know, you'll tell me," May says.

"I want you to know," Skye says quietly. She sighs, and her gaze shifts down to the instrument panel in front of her to keep from looking over at May. "Back when I got shot, the night after I woke up, I had this... really bad dream. I woke up screaming. Well, as much as a person can scream when they're still hooked up to a ventilator. That just made it worse. I felt like I couldn't breathe."

Skye pauses for a moment, lost in the memory. May waits in silence.

"Coulson was sitting there keeping an eye on me," Skye continues. "He started trying to calm me down. He said I didn't have to worry about Quinn because they'd put him in the Fridge. And that even if he wasn't locked up, you wouldn't let him anywhere near me." She looks over at May with a strange expression. "He said you punched Quinn. A lot."

"I did," May says. "I probably would've killed him if Coulson hadn't stopped me."

"Nobody had ever done anything like that for me," Skye says. May looks over to see gratitude shining in the younger agent's eyes. Then Skye turns her head so she can lean it back against the seat. "That's why I come up here. Because it's your place. For all your bluster and your hate fu, I know you'd do anything to protect me. To protect any of us. And being up here, being in your place... As crazy as it sounds, it…" She glances down at her hands hiding in her sweatshirt sleeves as if searching for the courage to finish. "It makes me feel safe."

May doesn't know what to say to that. Instead she looks out across the hangar so Skye can't see just how much the comment has affected her. She cares deeply for Skye, for this whole team, and to have her say something like that is deeply moving.

"It's kinda the same with Coulson," Skye continues. "No matter how distant he gets, I know he'd protect me no matter what. I guess I just figured that's what having a parent feels like, you know? I've spent my whole life searching for my parents, searching for somebody who would make me feel like I belonged. And then I found that here with this team. This is what a family feels like. Or at least, it did. So I guess I just thought that when I found my parents..."

She trails off again. May continues to remain silent. She can finally see where this is going, and she wants to give Skye room to say it.

"When I was in that room with those men my dad killed," Skye says finally, "I didn't feel any of that. I didn't feel safe. I just felt sick and angry. Like when I found out Ward was Hydra. Like someone I should have been able to trust had betrayed me. And then I just felt dirty because that man, the man who killed those people, that man is my father. And he's a monster. My father is a monster. What does that make me?"

She looks over at May with pain-filled eyes. May turns in her seat so she can lean forward and rest her arms on her knees, her whole focus on Skye.

"As hard as this is, that man has always been your father," she says firmly. "And as far as we know, he has always been a monster. Just because you know it now doesn't change who you are. You are still the same person you were yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. You are still Skye, no matter who your father is."

"But I have his DNA," Skye points out shakily. "What he did to those men… What if that's inside of me too? What if one day something just snaps and I turn into that?"

"You won't," May says seriously.

"How can you know that?" Skye presses.

"Because I know you. Your father may have given you his DNA, but he didn't raise you. He didn't make you the person you are today. You did that yourself. And knowing who your father is doesn't change that. You are still a talented agent who cares about people. Really cares. And who will do anything to protect those people. That's a rare quality, Skye. It's hard enough to find in good people. But I have never, ever seen it in a monster. And I've seen a lot of monsters."

Skye's eyes are wet with unshed tears. Clearly the message is sinking in. But there is still a hint of doubt on her face, so May keeps going.

"When Ward had you hostage, you could have let Mike kill him," she continues. "But you didn't. You chose to save a man who had betrayed your trust. That's not something a monster would do. You are a good person, Skye. And that has nothing to do with your father. That is all you."

Skye looks away briefly and reaches up to wipe her eyes before the tears escape.

"Coulson said you guys think I might be an alien," she says, trying to sound as if she wasn't just about to cry.

"It's one possibility," May says carefully. She really doesn't know how Skye's going to react to that information in her present state. "It would explain why you didn't react to the serum the same way. It would also explain your 0-8-4 status."

"It says something about my life that being an alien is a totally logical explanation," Skye mutters. The corner of May's mouth quirks up in a hint of a smile. "So what if it turns out it's true and I really am some kind of freak?"

"They're not all bad," May points out. "Thor's an alien."

"Maybe I'm like his second cousin or something," Skye says drily. "That'd be pretty cool. Being related to the god of thunder."

"It would make for interesting family reunions," May says, trying to draw a smile from the younger agents. She succeeds, but the expression is weak and it quickly fades. Then Skye turns her gaze back to the windshield and lets her head fall back against the seat again.

"I can't stop seeing what my father did to those men," she says quietly. "Every time I close my eyes, it's there. Agent Lumley told you my parents had wiped out a whole village. He said they were monsters. Ward seemed to think my dad wasn't human. What if... What if he is an alien and he has some sort of crazy strength powers? Or what if he's from an alien race that's just plain psychotic? What if that's inside of me?"

"We've been over this," May tells her, visibly weary of the argument.

"But what if it is?" Skye presses. "What if it's just waiting for a trigger? What if someday something snaps and I go crazy and turn into a killing machine? What if I put everyone in danger? What if I end up hurting someone I care about?"

"You won't," May insists firmly.

"But what if I do?" Skye presses. The fear in her eyes is all too real. May sighs. It's clear this train of thought won't be easily derailed.

"If that day comes, then we will deal with it then," May tells her calmly. "But it won't."

"How can you be so sure?" Skye asks.

"Because I know you," May says simply. "If there were any signs that you were secretly a psychopath, I would have seen them by now."

"You didn't see it in Ward," Skye says quietly, her eyes refusing to meet May's. May leans back into a more upright position.

"I didn't see Hydra," she corrects. "But I did see the darkness in him. The same darkness I see in every person with the potential to be a monster. And you don't have it. You should after everything you've been through, but you don't. Trust me."

Skye nods and looks away briefly as she swipes at her eyes. Then she lets her head fall back against the headrest on the seat. She sighs heavily as if she's just barely holding herself together.

"I told Coulson I didn't care," she says quietly. "That it didn't matter who my dad was, I just wanted to find him and stop him. But part of me does care. He's my dad. And as screwed up as it is, part of me still wants to meet him."

"It's not screwed up," May tells her.

"Yeah, it is," Skye says. She glances over at May and then back out the windshield. "The man is a monster. He killed those guys like... like they were bugs. He wiped out a whole village. How can I want to meet a man like that?"

"Because he's your father," May says quietly.

Skye shakes her head, and the motion nearly shakes free the tears burning in her eyes.

"There was a picture," she chokes as she stares down at her lap. "On the floor. It was a… a man and a baby. I think... I think it was me and him. He looked so happy. He looked like a dad should look, you know? Like he loved me. Like I was the center of his world. And Ward... Ward said my dad wants to meet me. That everything he did, he did because he loved me."

Skye looks over at May with eyes shining with tears.

"What if we don't find him?" she asks. "What if I never get to see him look at me like that? Or what if we do find him and he does look at me that way? I want to hate him, May, I really do. But what if I can't? What if he looks at me like that and I can't do it? What if he looks at me with all of that love and pride that I have always wanted, like the father I have always wanted? What if he looks at me like that and then I have to kill him?"

Her voice is shaking by the end. A lone tear escapes to run down her cheek. Skye reaches up and quickly wipes it away, averting her gaze in embarrassment. May can feel her heart breaking at the sight.

"I don't know what will happen," she says quietly. "With your father or with Ward. I don't even know if this base will still be here the day after tomorrow. But what I do know is that this team will always have your back. We are your family, and we are here for you."

She reaches over and takes Skye's hand in hers. Skye squeezes back tightly, looking over at May with watery eyes.

"I'm scared," she admits softly. "I'm scared that Coulson will lose his mind. I'm scared that Fitz will never be himself again. I'm scared that Hydra will win and this team will fall apart and I'll lose the only home I've ever had. I'm scared of seeing Ward again. Of being betrayed again. Of meeting my father. Of who I might be and what I might do. I'm scared that I'll turn into a monster like him. And I'm trying to be all strong and brave and secret agenty, but the truth is that I'm scared, May."

Skye is crying by the time she finishes. Her voice nearly breaks over the last few words. The emotional turmoil spilling out of her has clearly been building ever since they first arrived at this base. Skye normally keeps her emotions under fairly good control. The fact that she is breaking down like this is a testament to just how upset she truly is.

May isn't good at comforting. She never has been. But this is Skye, damn it. She has to fix this somehow. The knowledge that she can't only makes it worse. There is, however, one thing that she can do. It's going to make her horribly uncomfortable, and under normal circumstances she would never even consider it. But these are not normal circumstances.

She gets up and takes a step back from the seats toward the door so she can stand up straight without hitting her head. Skye's brow furrows in confusion.

"Come here," May tells her.

It's more than a suggestion, but not quite an order. Skye wipes her eyes before getting to her feet and stepping over in front of May. Then she looks at May, waiting for instructions. May hesitates a moment, visibly unsure. But then she reaches out and slowly wraps her arms around Skye. For a second Skye stands totally still, completely shocked by such a display of affection from her mentor. But it's exactly what she needs right now. She reaches up and wraps her arms around May's waist. Her grip quickly tightens as she lets her forehead come to rest against the older agent's shoulder. A few more tears leak from between her tightly closed eyelids, but if May feels them soaking through her shirt, she doesn't say anything. It's only now, as she feels how still May is, that Skye realizes she's trembling. Crying is making her breathing uneven, and no matter how she tries, she can't seem to calm it down.

"You're strong," May says quietly in Skye's ear. "You'll be okay."

In spite of all the uncertainty still filling her mind, Skye can feel her tense muscles very slowly begin to relax at her S.O.'s words. It is because of May that the cockpit has become Skye's safe place. Because of the calming effect her presence has. And if she says Skye's going to be okay, then something in Skye can't help but believe her.

May doesn't know how long they stand there as Skye gets herself under control. Probably not nearly as long as it feels. Skye's tears end quickly, but it takes another minute or two before the rise and fall of her chest signals that her breathing has evened out as well. Even then she holds on for a moment longer, seeming to draw strength from her mentor.

Finally Skye forces herself to pull away from the safety of May's arms. She looks away in embarrassment as she wipes her tearstained face with the ends of her sleeves.

"You okay?" May asks.

"I don't know," Skye says honestly. She looks up with eyes that are red but also a little brighter than they were when May first came up here.

"Fair enough," May says.

"You know, I don't think I've ever heard you talk that much before," Skye says in an awkward attempt to change the subject. "Well, about anything other than super secret missiony stuff."

"Don't usually need to," May says.

"Makes sense," Skye says. She sticks her hands into the pockets of her jeans, clearly unsure exactly how to end this conversation. There was a time when May would have just stood there and watched her flounder, but today she decides to give her an out.

"You should go eat something," she says matter-of-factly

"Think there's anything left?" Skye asks, grateful for the change of subject.

"I doubt it," May admits. "If not, ask Mack to make you an omelet."

"He makes omelets?" Skye asks in surprise. The curiosity flickering in her eyes makes her look more like the old Skye again.

"Good ones," May confirms.

"I didn't know that," Skye says. It could be May's imagination, but she could almost swear she sees the corner of Skye's mouth pulling up.

"There's a lot you don't know," she says.

"That's what you're for," Skye says. This time there really is a small smile on her face. "Teaching me all the stuff I don't know."

"Someone has to," May says drily.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad it's you," Skye says honestly.

"So am I," May says in a rare moment of affection.

"Careful," Skye tells her. "I might start thinking you're a softie."

"You'd be wrong," May says strongly.

"Sure," Skye says in a voice that says she doesn't believe it one bit. She turns and takes a step toward the door of the cockpit.

"Skye?" May says. Skye turns around with a questioning look on her face. "Whatever happens, we're here. All of us."

They both know it's the closest the older agent will come to saying how much she cares.

"I know," Skye says softly. She turns around and steps over to the door. Once on the other side, she turns back to look at May. "You coming?"

Those two words warm May's heart. The rest of the people on this base respect May, tolerate her presence, and occasionally even manage to enjoy having her around. But aside from Coulson, Skye is the only one who actively seeks her out. And that means a lot.

Instead of answering her, May takes a short look around her cockpit. Although she might never admit it out loud, Skye isn't the only one who misses living here. Satisfied that everything is still in order, May turns and follows Skye out the door.

"So, about what happened back there," Skye says awkwardly as they walk through the common room of the Bus.

"What happens in the cockpit stays there," May tells her.

"Good," Skye says in relief. Then she glances over at May with a smile she's clearly trying to conceal.

"What?" May asks suspiciously.

"Softie," Skye says, her grin widening.

May reaches out and shoves her into the couch.

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><p>So there you have it. What'd you think? Please take a sec to leave a review letting me know what you thought. I would be extremely grateful.<p>

If you liked this piece, feel free to check out my other shield stories: "Team Movie Night" (an analysis of each team member's movie preferences as related to their personality), "Back Where We Belong" (insomnia leads to slight bonding between May and Skye the night after they rescue Coulson), and "The Eye of the Storm" (after reuniting with the team, Skye and May try to deal with the immediate fallout of Ward's betrayal and the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D.).


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